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HOORAY FOR 1933—EIGHTY YEARS LATERStep Up Revolution—movie review
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The story is a collection of clichés but the actors are likable, good-looking, and know how to dance. Ryan Guzman plays a waiter who’s part of a group called The Mob that stages elaborate flash-mob dances in public places throughout Miami, hoping to win a big cash prize in a contest sponsored by YouTube. He chances to meet Kathryn McCormick, who’s trying to win a spot with a prestigious dance troupe…and whose father (Peter Gallagher) is promoting a huge development that will tear down Guzman’s working-class neighborhood. Will she betray her father and help his cause? Should he tell his pals that she’s the daughter of their enemy? And can they continue to stage spontaneous dance events without getting into trouble with the authorities? These are the dramatic crises that unfold between musical moments.
As a celebration of dance, movement, and visual ingenuity, this movie is hard to beat. Director Scott Speer, who has worked on The LXD: Legion of Extraordinary Dancers series (and is a protégé of Step Up 3-D’s talented director, Jon M. Chu), knows where to put the camera to make the most of every shot in every number, and isn’t addicted to staccato editing. Choreographers Jamal Sims, Christopher Scott, Travis Wall and Chuck Maldonado have cast talented performers and put them in a variety of colorful settings right from the start. (The movie opens with a terrific flash-mob number staged on the streets of Miami’s Ocean Drive.)
I’ll admit that this isn’t a movie I would have sought out on my own, but having seen it I’m happy to spread the good word. It’s a lot of fun.
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4 Comments
Tanner | August 11, 2012 8:02 PM
Agreed. Wait for the video!
Nick Brown | July 30, 2012 3:14 PM
Leonard, Thanks for noticing the 3D! I was the Stereographer, so I was in charge of all the 3D. I'm desperately trying to show people that when used correctly and creatively, 3D can be an extremely powerful cinematic tool that has the ability to literally and figuratively break down the wall between a film and its audience. Unfortunately, poor 3D has turned many people off to the medium over the past few years. If 3D is going to survive, the quality must go up dramatically fast in the immediate future.
Norm | July 27, 2012 4:22 PM
While I can appreciate LM's enthusiasim for this picture, I'll wait for the DVD/Blu-Ray, to tap tap tap my way down the hallway..Busby Berkley indeed...